Re: Tales of the Rune-Tech Sage

Chapter 757: True Noble

CH757 True Noble

***

The people of Fonterra came to the town square without any expectations in their hearts. They planned to simply listen to the new noble’s lip service and leave once he was done listening to the sound of his own voice.

However, when the speech was over, each of them found themselves confronted with a decision they never expected they would ask themselves again—not after the many setbacks they had endured.

Should they ignore the noble and continue to live their lives as they currently were, or should they take the risk and believe this new noble might be different from those who had come before him?

Should they hope or not…?

Hope was a great motivator, driving people to persevere and achieve a great many things.

However, hope was also one of the cruellest things in the world, for arguably there was no experience more cruel—more evil—than having one’s hope rekindled and nurtured, only to have it crushed once again.

After saying his piece, the young noble didn’t say anything else. He made no attempt to further convince or coerce them. He didn’t even hand out food or other supplies to bribe and win their favour like the nobles before him.

He simply left.

This forced the townsfolk to confront the merits of his words—forced them to consider what he was offering on its own merits, unswayed by any temporary or impulsive outside influence.

Many in the crowd remained silent even minutes after Alex had departed, lost in thought. Those who left were no different as they woodenly walked back to their homes, their minds also racing.

Milton observed the townsfolk’s reaction to Alex’s speech.

The speech wasn’t the best he had ever heard, but it was perhaps the most sincere he had heard from any noble in his forty years working for the town—perhaps in his entire life.

Milton wondered why he felt this way.

‘Is it because I know he didn’t plan the speech ahead of time? Or is it because he doesn’t act like those before him?’ The old man found himself confronted with a new sight in these twilight years of his life.

While it was obvious to him that Alex’s speech hadn’t instantly won over the people, the young noble had indeed achieved his goal of establishing his position as domain lord in their minds.

They could no longer ignore him, as they now each had to make a decision—whether to support him or oppose him. The complete indifference from before was no longer an option.

‘Especially since he has shown himself to be a powerful sorcerer,’ Milton mused.

The biggest factor working against Alex wasn’t merely the fact that he was a noble. It was the fact that he was also a young noble.

Being a noble was already bad enough; being a young one created a first impression that made it difficult for the already indifferent people of Fonterra to take his words seriously.

They would not only dismiss his words as the hollow promises of a noble, but even worse, as the words of a child who didn’t understand the immensity of what he was saying.

An untamed ambition he lacked the power to achieve, and the wisdom and experience to keep in check.

‘The mystic art was cast at the right time, shattering that impression,’ Milton sighed inwardly.

Although sorcerers were untouchable enigmas in the eyes of most people, it was widely known that becoming a high-level sorcerer required a great deal of wisdom.

By displaying such a mystic art, Alex had shown them that he was a high-level sorcerer, taking advantage of the common folk’s high regard for sorcerers to establish a stronger impression of himself in their hearts.

If a high-level sorcerer required great wisdom, then in the eyes of the people, Alex, as a high-level sorcerer, must possess great wisdom as well.

In a single move, he not only created the impression that he possessed the wisdom to potentially tame any wild ambition, but also the power to even begin pursuing the ambitions he had spoken of.

In Milton’s eyes, Alex’s strongest move today hadn’t been his speech—which hadn’t pandered to the people as they had expected—but the final [Five-claw Divine Dragon] Spirit magic spell.

‘The speech was nothing but the foundation. Perhaps his plan had always been the mystic art,’ Milton wondered.

Life in the Frontier March was hard. People worried about their safety every day. So, having a powerful leader was a welcome prospect.

Milton couldn’t be sure whether it had indeed been part of some grand scheme by Alex, but what was clear was that the young noble had achieved his intended result.

Even he had lost his indifference towards Alex and couldn’t help but want to watch what the youth would do next—exactly as the youth had requested only moments ago.

‘We fell into his hands completely,’ Milton sighed. ‘Is this what it means to be a true noble? That even a child…’

Milton recalled something from a long time ago… something his mentor and predecessor, the man who had held his current position in Fonterra before him and taught him everything he knew about administration during his youth, had once told him.

—

“You want to know why I don’t hate nobles?” Milton’s mentor had laughed. “It’s because those who have come here are not real nobles. They are just fools with a title. Why should I bother myself with hating a fool?

“A true noble… a true noble doesn’t need to force people to obey or respect him like these fools do. This is someone whose charm and charisma are enough to win the hearts of his people. Someone whose words and subtle actions are all it takes to change the course of their territory and the direction of their people’s lives—never mind his power.”

“A true noble is someone who makes their title, not someone who is made by their title.”

“You might not understand now. It is, after all, something I only understood after meeting one myself.”

“When you meet someone who embodies their standing before their title ever does, then you’ll know you have met the right person.”

—

Milton wondered if he had indeed met the right person.

In Fonterra, Alex’s title as a noble was of little to no help to him. In fact, rather than an advantage, it was more of a demerit. Yet despite this, Alex had managed to convince the people to at least see him as their domain lord and take him seriously.

Whether they chose to willingly follow him was another matter entirely, but he had achieved that much.

And just as he had said in his speech, it was all he cared about.

He hadn’t tried to convince the people of anything more, choosing instead to let his future actions speak for him. Having said his piece, he left decisively, demonstrating that he was a man of his word.

‘Since you have shown your conviction, Sir Count, then as you requested, I will watch you closely and decide for myself,’ Milton thought.

Unbeknownst to him, his attitude towards Alex’s arrival had already begun to change, and the seed had been sown.

—

Milton had thought Alex left the square immediately after finishing his address and returned to the lord’s manor a few metres away because he wanted to show that he had no intention of using more words to convince the people.

But that was not actually the case.

It was true that Alex had finished his speech and was preparing to leave, but he had actually intended to stay a few more minutes to gauge the people’s reactions before departing.

Something else had changed his plans and forced him to leave as quickly as he did.

Alex was afraid that a showy phenomenon might occur, as he felt the Fortune-suppressing Dragon stir and sensed that it was about to do something major.

***